Dialog Extra for Nov. 1, 2012

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

BENEFITS OPEN ENROLLMENT — The annual open enrollment for certain employee benefit plans is Nov. 1-15. During open enrollment, eligible employees can enroll in medical, dental or vision insurance plans; cancel coverage; or make changes to existing coverage. Employees can also enroll in the flexible spending account for 2013. Changes made during open enrollment will be effective Jan. 1, 2013.

TOBACCO-FREE PROGRAM — The Office of Health Promotion and Wellness announces the fall schedule for its program designed to help faculty and staff give up tobacco. Beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 6, group sessions will be held from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. each Tuesday through the month of November at 354 Russell Hall. The program provides helpful tools and resources, educational sessions, connection to health-care providers, and tobacco-cessation medication options available through the UA health plan. For more information or to register, contact Kay Whites at 348-0077 or kwhites@ua.edu.

APPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH GRANT FUNDS — The Research Grants Committee, through the Office of the Vice President for Research, is accepting applications for research grant funds from all tenured-track, tenured and clinical faculty who are full-time UA employees. Applicants may apply for up to $6,000 in funds. Procedures, priorities and restrictions used by the committee in awarding research funds are detailed in the RGC Manual. The manual and application are online at http://osp.ua.edu/rgc_grants.html. The electronic application is due Jan. 31, 2013. Click here to register for one of two workshops that highlight the application process. The workshops will be held Nov. 15 and Dec. 5 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in G-54 Rose Administration Building. Contact Angie Shotts at ashotts@fa.ua.edu or 348-8070 with questions.

RURAL HEALTH CONFERENCE POSTER ABSTRACTS — The Institute for Rural Health Research is accepting poster presentation abstracts for the 14th Annual Rural Health Conference, “The Weight of Our Rural Communities: Partnering to Reduce Obesity,” which will be held April 20, 2013, at the Ferguson Center ballroom. Posters should highlight programs, projects and learned experiences that focus on health disparities, health education and rural health care. Click here to submit an abstract. The deadline to submit an abstract is Jan. 16, 2013. For questions or additional information, visit http://cchs.ua.edu/conference or contact Melanie T. Tucker at mtucker@cchs.ua.edu or 348-6151.

DATABASE MAINTENANCE CANCELLED — The Office of Information Technology has cancelled the database maintenance for myBama and DegreeWorks that was scheduled for Nov. 3.

E-LEARNING COURSE CONTENT DEADLINE — Nov. 20 is the deadline to request course content from e-Learning for use in Blackboard Learn for Spring Semester 2013 courses. Click here and follow the steps given. For more information, visit http://frc.ua.edu, call 348-3532 or send an email to elearning@ua.edu.

IGNITE UA NOMINATIONS — First Year Experience is accepting nominations for Ignite UA, a community-building program specifically designed for freshmen and transfer students as they transition to life at UA. Ignite UA empowers first-year students to maximize their UA experience through developing relationships and exploring passion. To nominate a student, email fye@ua.edu with the following information: nominator’s name and email address, nominee’s name and email address, and any additional information about the nominee that may help in the nomination process. FYE will contact all nominees and provide them with applications. Students have until Nov. 19 to submit applications.

WORTH QUOTING — “It’s more satirical and snarky. We don’t see many ordinary buttons. A lot of pictures and slogans and ideas are circulated on the Internet. People create little pictures and satire, which partially accounts for why we aren’t seeing as many buttons now. But if you go to eBay, you can find plenty of more satirical memorabilia like dolls and bobblehead dolls.” Dr. Janis Edwards, associate professor of communication studies at UA, as quoted in The Birmingham News regarding different forms of political memorabilia in American culture.